Hello and Happy New Year 2005!

I hope this newsletter finds you well. The sun is shining in Auckland at last – summer got off to a slow start but is hot and glorious finally - we are swimming lots and there is good weather predicted. Those of you freezing in northern climes should consider a visit to New Zealand !

There is a generally accepted belief that calcium supplementation and milk consumption is good for fracture prevention. The fact has long been disputed by those knowledgeable about nutrition and the mechanics of bone health, but the evidence is finally becoming irrefutable that we have, yet again, been misinformed en masse. So much for the massive advertising campaigns exhorting us to drink more milk for healthy bones! Awareness is finally dawning that the countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis are the biggest consumers of dairy products and that Asian countries like China where dairy consumption is rare, have the lowest rates of hip fracture in the world.

Several large studies including the famed Harvard Medical School Nurses' Health Study of 77,000 women have found no positive association between milk consumption and the risk of fractures. In fact higher consumption of dairy foods appears to increase the risk of hip fractures. Now there is another study. Kanis and colleagues from the University of Sheffield in the UK reported the results of a meta-analysis of milk intake in 39,563 women and men from 6 studies to the October 2004 annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. The results showed there was no fracture benefit for those who consumed milk.

At the same meeting the results of an Australian 5-year, prospective, randomized placebo-controlled trial involving 1406 women older than 75 years found questionable benefit from calcium supplementation. Dr Ego Seeman largely dismisses any benefit in his review of the study.

Getting the recommended daily allowance of calcium at all ages is important, preferably from dietary sources. But bone nutrional requirements are wide and complex. A diet that covers the diverse nutritional needs of bone including calcium, magnesium, vitamin K, boron, manganese, zinc, copper, silicon and others nutrients is ideal. Fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds are good sources of these foods. Limit heavy protein and salt intake, reduce alcohol, don't smoke, and for essential vitamin D, get sunlight on your skin at safe times of the day.

Another highly recommended great read in the ever-increasing expose of the deeply flawed American health system is Overdosed America : The Broken Promise of American Medicine By John Abramson, M.D. Health care and prescription drug costs are skyrocketing, but few still doubt the excellence of American medicine. John Abramson, M.D., from the clinical faculty at Harvard Medical School , reveals how the corporate takeover of clinical research and medical practice is profoundly compromising Americans' health.

More soon...

Best wishes

Gillian